The present invention relates to an emergency stretcher or cot and, more particularly, to an emergency stretcher that exhibits improved dampening and, further, provides increased base stiffness to reduce side-to-side tilting.
When a stretcher is unloaded, for example from an ambulance, it is often desirable to allow the base of the stretcher to be quickly released and lowered from its compact configuration in the ambulance to a ground engaging position spaced further from the patient support or litter of the stretcher. This release is referred to as a “hot-drop” function, which allows a single emergency medical technician (EMT) to remove a stretcher out of the back of an ambulance without the need for a second EMT or helper to hold or assist the base being moved down to the ground. However, this release can generate significant impact loads on various components of the stretcher. Further, over time, these impact loads may cause damage to various components.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a dampening system to at least reduce the impact to the various components of a stretcher while still providing the hot-drop capability without hindering the functionality of the stretcher.